India's premier Table Tennis league to return after three years

Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), the India’s biggest franchise-based table tennis league, is scheduled to return after a three-year absence. The league, organized by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), will take place from July 13 to July 30, 2023, at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune. The league has changed the game for Indian table tennis since it began in 2017, bringing top-tier table tennis activity to the country. As a result of their remarkable performances, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manav Thakkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee, and Manika Batra have become recognized as rising stars in the Indian sports industry.

According to the chairperson of UTT, Vita Dani, the league will continue to offer a platform for talent in the nation. Five of the six franchises, namely U Mumba TT, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis, Goa Challengers, Dabang Delhi TTC, and RPSG Mavericks Kolkata, will play in the upcoming tournament. Bengaluru Smashers is the latest edition to the league. Punit Balan, the leader of the Punit Balan Group and a philanthropist and new-age sports investor having franchises in Ultimate Kho-Kho, Tennis Premier League, and the Premier Handball League, owns and promotes the team.

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What the co-promoter of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) had to say

The primary goal of UTT is to increase the sport’s popularity in India, and it has been encouraging to see this trend season after season. The co-promoter of UTT, Niraj Bajaj, said, “It’s unfortunate that the league couldn’t take place after 2019, but here we are again, committed as we were on the first day in 2017 to take table tennis in this country to the next level.”  The league’s third iteration was won by the Chennai Lions, led by Indian table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, in Delhi in 2019 when they defeated Sathiyan’s Dabang Delhi TTC in the final game.

What the TTFI President and Secretary General Had to say

The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has reacted favorably to UTT’s return and is hopeful that the league would help the sport develop in India. Meghna Ahlawat, the president of the TTFI, and Kamlesh Mehta, the secretary general, said together, “UTT has helped put India on the world map in regards to hosting a world-class event in the country and attracting the finest talent from the world. We wish UTT all the success in the upcoming season.” Indian paddlers will have the chance to display their talent on a worldwide stage owing to the league’s revival. Indian players have put up some fantastic performances in previous seasons of the league, and it is anticipated that more talented players would show up in the forthcoming season.

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